A catalytic hydrocarbon fuel reformer converts a fuel stream comprising, for example, natural gas, light distillates, methanol, propane, naphtha, kerosene, gasoline, diesel fuel, or combinations thereof, and air, into a hydrogen-rich reformate fuel stream comprising a gaseous blend of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and nitrogen (ignoring trace components). In the reforming process, the raw hydrocarbon fuel stream is typically percolated through a catalyst bed or beds contained within reactor tubes mounted in the reformer vessel. The catalytic conversion process is typically carried out at elevated catalyst temperatures in the range of about 1200° F. to about 1600° F.
In most reformers of this type, hot burner gas generated at a burner generally disposed within the reformer vessel accumulates in a primary (typically, upper) plenum within the vessel, contacting and heating the outer surface of the reactor tubes, thereby heating the catalyst. The hot burner gas may be directed through a cylindrical sleeve surrounding the lower portion of each reactor tube, so that the hot burner gas travels in close contact with outer surfaces of the reactor tubes and effective heat transfer occurs. Hot burner gas from the primary plenum flows through a narrow annular passage between  the internal wall of the sleeve and the external wall of each reactor tube, and into a secondary (lower) plenum, from which it is discharged. Seal plates or insulation may be employed to prevent bypass of the hot burner gases around the sleeve.
The produced hydrogen-rich reformate stream may be used, for example, as the fuel gas stream feeding the anode of an electrochemical fuel cell after passing the reformate stream through a water gas shift reactor and other purification means such as a carbon monoxide selective oxidizer. Reformate is particularly well suited to start up a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system because the purification step for removal of carbon monoxide is not required for an SOFC.
The hydrogen-rich reformate stream may also be used as a hydrogen fuel to fuel an engine. Hydrogen-fueled vehicles are of interest as low-emissions vehicles because hydrogen as a fuel or a fuel additive can significantly reduce air pollution and can be produced from a variety of fuels. Hydrogen provides the capability to run an engine with very lean fuel-air mixtures that greatly reduce production of NOx. Small amounts of supplemental hydrogen fuel may allow conventional gasoline internal combustion engines to reach nearly zero emissions levels. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,130 of Kirwan et al., entitled “System And Controls For Near Zero Cold Start Tailpipe Emissions In Internal Combustion Engines,” discloses an on-board fuel reformer-engine system employing substantially 100% reformate fueling at start-up for near-zero cold start hydrocarbon and NOx engine emissions. The system and method provides for controlling the supply of one or a combination of reformate, liquid fuel, and air to the engine and exhaust catalyst to achieve low hydrocarbon and NOx emissions over a full range of engine operating conditions.
While hydrogen fuel may be stored on-board to provide an instant source of reformate fuel, on-board storage of reformate significantly  increases system size, cost and complexity. For example, on-board storage may require high-pressure vessels, cryogenic containers if the hydrogen is to be stored as a compressed gas or liquid, or large volumes and weights if the hydrogen is to be stored as a hydride. In addition, storage of carbon monoxide may be a safety concern. Further, the refill time for hydrogen is substantially longer than that for gasoline when hydrogen is to be stored on-board.
What is needed in the art is a reformate-generating device comprising a rapid start up (or “fast light-off”) system. What is further needed in the art is a rapid start-up catalytic reformer for producing reformate suitable for feeding a power generation system such as a fuel cell or engine.